Brewery, Winery and Distillery Feasibility Study in New Jersey

New Jersey producers: few loans, clean repayment

New Jersey's beer, wine and spirits producers are a smaller presence in SBA lending than the class is nationally, with a location quotient of 0.72x, a state rank of 17 of 53 and a rank of 15 of 39 among New Jersey classes. Lenders approved 92 loans for $59.5 million between FY2017 and FY2026. The New Jersey median of $350,000 is 1.21x the median for beverage makers across the country, and the quartiles put half of all New Jersey loans between $102,625 and $850,000. The repayment record and the growth in dollars set the tone for the rest of the page.

SBA 7(a) carries 81 loans and SBA 504 carries 11, and no franchise appears, at 0.00%. Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company leads 7(a) by count with 11 loans and $2.5 million, TD Bank, National Association holds 8 for $1.2 million, and Trenton Business Assistance Corporation holds 6 for $1.3 million. Live Oak Banking Company's 5 loans carry $5.7 million, far more money per deal than the banks ahead of it by count, and Fulton Bank, National Association holds 5 for $2.4 million. Empire State Certified Development Corporation holds 5 of the 504 loans, for $4.0 million. Monmouth County leads with 17 loans, then Camden with 12, Cape May with 9, Ocean with 8, Burlington with 7 and Warren with 6.

A clean loss floor, a real cancellation floor

Not one of the 47 New Jersey producer loans in the FY2017 to FY2021 funding years has been written off; New Jersey's loss floor is 0.00% to date, and 0.00% for failures inside five years. It is a floor, and a loan still open can fail, but for a lender it is a strong start. The pressure point sits before closing: New Jersey cancelled 12.2% or more of its FY2017 to FY2024 approvals, and because the ceiling is also 12.2%, no approval from those years still waits on funds. Dollars have moved toward larger deals, from 13 loans and $2.5 million in FY2017 to 8 loans and $9.6 million in FY2025 and 10 loans and $11.4 million in FY2026.

What a New Jersey production study must settle

Any New Jersey production study has to explain a ticket somewhat above the national median and prove that the project can reach closing, since cancellation rather than loss is where this record shows strain. Demand should be split between wholesale accounts and sales on the premises, tested against the producers already pouring in Monmouth, Camden or Cape May. Cost testing covers production equipment, any building purchase and the licensing timeline. Debt service coverage should rest on output the equipment can really deliver and on each channel's margin, and the appraisal will lean on the building and equipment more than on the brand. New Jersey borrowers are coded only as producers of beer, wine or spirits; the code is silent on whether they also pour for visitors or host events, and the rest of manufacturing sits outside the class.